Michael Sitzman

In the beauty of the lilies

This is for those who serve. It merits perennial reflection by all of us who enjoy a thing called freedom, something as vital as air itself, yet just as easy to overlook. For some among us, there exists something that causes them to put aside personal concerns in defense of that very freedom. Some are our fellow students. What would compel people to put themselves in peril for the sake of others? We have been asked to think about this many times;

today, I challenge you to feel it, however you will.

Okapi! Lessons from the savanna

So heres another week gone by, and Ive just got this to say: Chill, Brandeis! It seems that controversy is in the air instead of the cooler days of fall I had been waiting for. Lately, the campus press has been abuzz with much fuss about allegedly stereotypical and pejorative statements. Insults are met with bigger insults;

anger begets anger. Must be the humidity. Well, if we cant bring on cooler weather, maybe its time for cooler heads;

well need the energy for the midterms…

At the turning

This is the story told at this time each year with a regularity as sure as the beating of a young heart. The day it would cease to be told: That indeed is the day my own heart would cease to be young, and I would wish then that it should beat no longer. Come now to the orchard, and witness the story with me as it is told once more…

The Reckoning, Pt. 2

Editor's Note: Michael Sitzman wrote this as a personal remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001. He gave The Hoot permission to reprint it. This is part II of II.

Mercy

Dear God, help us. Hear our prayers and have mercy

The hurricane was summed up well in a newspaper quote as corpses floated down the street in the devastated Gulf Coast city: The weak and staggered senses of mankind may gather fragments of the disaster, and may strive with inevitable incompleteness to convey the merest impression of the saddest story which ever engaged the efforts of a reporter…

The Reckoning, Pt. 1

Editor's Note: Michael Sitzman wrote this as a personal remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001. He gave The Hoot permission to reprint it. This is part I of II.

The ship and the caravan

The Intercultural Center (ICC) was a hotbed of activity last season with two farewell dinners. In April, the ICC and SASA (South Asian Students Association) banquets featured speeches by outgoing seniors, and by other students and staff wishing them well. Additionally, a new canvas mural on the ICC staircase was dedicated in May.

Treasure hunt helps build understanding

Last Sundays Hillel- and BBSO-sponsored Treasure Hunt, with its 20-odd participants, was hardly the most crowd-drawing event of the year. Yet it stands out in its originality of purpose: To foster a link between the Black and Jewish communities on campus. For this reason, both its purpose and process merit respect and thoughtful consideration by next years student leaders.

Gospel Extravaganza leaves some in tears

Good news! You passed your midterm. Good news! She said yes. Good news! Your dad made it through surgery;

hes going to be fine.

How did you feel when you last heard really good news? Try to remember. Dont even try to describe;

just feel it. Now how about this:

Good news! You are saved.

Hillel Theater Group presents HAIR!

Your draft notice arrived today.

One of the more revealing lines that gave meaning to Hillel Theater Groups production of the musical HAIR! at Shapiro Theater last Tuesday. Let these words stew in the back of your mind as you read…

Deeper than SKIN

I knew this would be a tough assignment. What do I know about fashion? What would it have to do with the shows stated purpose of countering stereotypes about Asian-Pacific Americans? With these doubts I sat down to SKIN/InspirAsian last Saturday in the Levin Ballroom. It didnt matter that the audience was small. They connected.